BROWN COUNTY — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) reports water from six private wells tested at Farmfest exceeded the federal health standard for nitrate-nitrogen this year. Another nine private wells showed elevated levels. Three of every four Minnesotans rely on groundwater ...

The beef industry is facing challenging times with high demand and low supply — increases in price and a reduction in cattle inventory. The future though might also be challenging with a need to stay relevant but still evolve with consumer demand and money-conscious or streamlined pricing as ...

Less supply, more demand. That seems to be the reality of the beef industry right now. The driving factors are complex including drought conditions, shifts in temperatures and precipitation, higher costs of raising and feeding cattle, the health of the cattle including disease and pest ...

Moderating a recent Farmfest Forum on how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping agriculture, West Central Minnesota farmer Zach Johnson said AI interests just about every-one in agriculture at least a little bit. “It’s like the internet was 20-25 years ago. It’s going to take ...

He doesn’t travel to as many places as he did years ago, but Darrell Platz of rural Comfrey still brings a good selection of fresh vegetables to the New Ulm Farmers Market two times a week. A good share of the farmers market attendees can be found looking at his produce that includes ...

BROWN COUNTY — Rainfall of six inches or more in the Marshall area Aug. 15-17 compared to about an inch around Lake Benton pleased some farmers and created Cottonwod River flooding in other places. “We got adequate rain. We’re in the garden spot right now. We got a few tenths of an inch ...